Getting back in the saddle
It’s been a while, but I’m finally back behind the microphone. A year after flying back from the Tata Open tennis tournament in India, I was making the journey to London to commentate.
As I wrapped up presenting and commentating on the action in Pune in February 2020, it would have been inconceivable that there was to be such a long hiatus before getting back into action. I was expecting to be back on the subcontinent for the ISSF shooting World Cup soon after, and then there was the small matter of two trips to Tokyo for the Olympics and the Paralympics.
Reading the newspaper on the trip from Pune to Mumbai airport, the Covid-19 troubles in China did not seem like something that would spread so quickly and cause so much chaos, but of course it did.
For us freelancers, it was a slow torture as event after event was cancelled. As the pandemic progressed, our potential income dwindled - as did our optimism. Some income disappeared forever, when it came to the Olympics it was a case of jam tomorrow, not today.
The glorious weather in the UK during the lockdown in April, May and June was a balm to the wound; a rare chance to relax at home in the hammock with nothing pressing work wise to worry about. Best not to look at the bank balance, unless you were lucky enough to have a sideline to top up the finances - or be eligible for Government help.
Of course necessity is the mother of invention, and soon sport was finding ways to bounce back in a bubble. Cricket in England, football, and even rugby eventually. The problem for many freelancers was it was the wrong kind of sport; much of it covered by those employed or contracted to the likes of Sky and the BBC.
Even then it wasn’t that simple; David Lloyd commentating on England cricket this year from his bedroom took some getting used to - both for him and us. Established names groaning about a 4.30 start to watch the match off tube was amusing, especially as that can be the bread and butter for many commentators.
For my return to the mic, I travelled to London each day for an event that was taking place in Africa. I could possibly have gone, but flights were a nightmare and the possibility of two weeks in a Heathrow quarantine hotel didn’t appeal. Even so, it was a joy to be back doing something I love and actually seeing people in a place of work. But boy was I tired by the end of the week long event.
There is light at the end of the tunnel. Yesterday I signed a contract for the Paralympics. This weekend I have my first Covid-19 jab. I have invested in recording equipment at home, which might well be the way of the future for some events.
But still the virus gets in the way. I should be heading to India around now for the shooting World Cup. That’s going to happen without me because of quarantine issues. Let’s hope by this time next year, Covid-19 will be in the rear view mirror. I miss the adventure of getting on a plane and experiencing something new.